Holly Ridge boy home again after first cancer treatment

Jannette Pippin Daily News Staff

Friday

Mar 15, 2019 at 1:39 PMMar 15, 2019 at 1:39 PM

HOLLY RIDGE — Messages of “We Missed You” are still visible in chalk on the sidewalk and a “Perryn Strong” banner hangs from the porch columns outside of his home, but there is something else 9-year-old Perryn Miller has noticed is his first days back home in North Carolina.

“The weather . . . and seeing everybody,” Perryn said with a grin when asked what he has liked most about being home.

This week’s sunshine and warm temperatures may seem like a small thing when considering all Perryn and his family have been through over the past six months, but they have cherished the chance to sleep under their own roof and most importantly, focus on Perryn’s ongoing treatment for an aggressive brain cancer from their home.

“We don’t think we’ve really been able to sit down and let it all sink in yet,” said Jaimee Miller, Perryn's mother.

The Miller family returned to North Carolina Monday evening for the first time since a holiday trip to Utah during which Perryn was diagnosed with stage four Glioblastoma Multiforme.

Perryn was taken to the emergency room for a severe headache and went through emergency surgery after doctors discovered a brain tumor.

Unable to return to their Holly Ridge home, which sustained significant water damage due to Hurricane Florence, the Millers decided to stay in Utah for Perryn’s first round of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

“We knew if we returned at that time we wouldn’t have a home to come back to so we decided to stay,” Jaimee Miller said.

When they — Jaimee and Jacob Miller with Perryn and younger brother Rayner — did return this week, their home was repaired and ready for them to settle in once they walked through the door.

And their family and friends were there to greet them.

“It was really great seeing our family, friends, Perryn’s friends, our neighbors, everyone,” she said. “We were ready to get home and to see that so many others wanted to see us home made it special. We’ve had so much community support.”

There was national attention when a former truck driver from Virginia heard about Perryn’s story and agreed to pick up Frank, the family’s young German Shepard that was still in North Carolina, and drive him to Utah to be with Perryn.

While in Utah, Perryn had the chance to be officer of the day thanks to a Utah police department and got to see a professional soccer game (his favorite sport) as well as a professional basketball game.

And while he enjoyed doing a little sledding in the snow in Utah, Perryn prefers the beach and is anxious to get back to the sand and surf. The third grader at Coastal Preparatory Academy also misses school, but isn’t quite ready to head back to class.

Jaimee Miller said now that they are back in North Carolina they’ll be meeting with their doctors at Duke Medical Center to get Perryn established there. He’ll have a new scan on April 5 and they’ll see at that time how they’ll proceed with treatment.

Perryn said he didn’t like waking up and feeling bad and nauseous during treatments, but he's feeling better and glad to be home.

Frank, who was able to fly back home with the family, was also enjoying lounging around the house or hanging out in the back yard.

Jaimee Miller said they are busy just getting settled in and finishing up some things that still need done with the house, but just waking up under their own roof and being able to grab a cup of coffee in their own kitchen and head to the gym for a few minutes has been a blessing.

“It seems surreal,” she said.

Now that they are back home, she said they are ready for whatever comes next as Perryn continues treatment and they move forward as a family.

“I think having been through all this has made us stronger as a family and ready to do the next steps,” she said.

Reporter Jannette Pippin can be reached at 910-382-2557 or Jannette.Pippin@JDNews.com. For digital subscription information, click here.

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